A/N: So I made some edits! I changed Ivy's name to Leora because I realized that there's a couple characters in the TVD universe that are called Ivy, so I wanted to change it up. I also changed her age, so you can go check that in chapter 1.
Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 7
I watch from the car as Stefan answers the door, and Elena and he talk, both looking tense. I glance quickly at Adaline, and she gives me a nervous look. I shrug, before turning back to see what will happen with the Stefan situation. I did warn him, so it's not like I didn't help.
Elena runs away, and Stefan vamps over to her, trying to stop her, but of course, nothing really comes of it. Stefan cares for her enough that he listens and lets her go, not wanting to risk hurting her if he tried to get her to stay. I duck down behind the seat, and Elena drives off, breathing heavily.
"It's not possible," Elena whispers. "It's not real."
"What's not real?" I pop up, and Elena screams, slamming on the breaks. I fly into the seat. "Ouch! What the hell?" I rub my tender forehead but stop when I feel her glare on me. I look up slowly. "Hey, Lena."
"You nearly killed us!" Elena shouts, and I pat her hand tenderly, but she yanks it away. I sigh.
"You slammed on the breaks. You didn't veer." But she isn't buying it. "C'mon, Elena, we're not hurt."
"That was stupid," She snipes, but starts to drive, glaring ahead of her, so I know she isn't angry with me anymore. I hesitate but get over my apprehension and crawl into the passenger seat, turning to look at her.
"He's not a bad person," I say softly, and I see her jaw clench.
"You don't know that," Elena hisses, and I frown.
"You don't know him," I snap, and she turns sharply. "Eyes on the road." Elena snorts.
"Oh, so now you're afraid of crashing?" She sneers. I choose to ignore her. "He's-he, well, he isn't what I expected." I eye her skeptically. She's silent for a few seconds, before sighing. "I don't know if I can trust him."
"You have to know someone better before judging them that harshly," I say nonchalantly, but give her a stern look. Elena looks away, eyes staring intensely ahead of her.
"I can't, Leo." Her hands clench tightly around the steering wheel, so I nod, and we sit in silence for the rest of the ride. Elena turns to me again. "Why were you even there?"
I hesitate. "I-I just felt like I should be there." Elena gives me a skeptical look, but lets it go, too frazzled and scared to care why I was at the Salvatore boarding house at night.
I watch her walk into the house, before sighing and getting out of the car, following her in.
"Thank you, Leora," Adaline says, but I ignore her. I don't want to think about what it means now that Elena knows. I don't want to think about the fact that Elena's some coveted supernatural being and how she'll be the reason why so much shit happens to us. So, I don't. I simply go to bed.
Tonight, when I astral project, things are different, they feel different. Something is tugging on me, like a force, pulling me towards it, pulling me to another place. Since I have already explored pretty much everywhere I can travel to as a spirit and the things that I can do, I go.
I look around me, trying to control my racing heart as I take in the destruction and horror surrounding me. I swallow thickly, walking down the aisle, studying the dead bodies and the old fashioned clothes they're wearing. Clearly, I'm not in the 21st century anymore, and I shake my head, backing away and screwing my eyes shut, praying that this grotesque vision would end soon.
"Who are you?" A man asks, and I spin around, turning to face him. I inhale sharply when I notice that he's quite literally covered in blood. It's all over his face, and it's clear that he's the one responsible for this massacre.
"My name's Leora, but people call me Leo." I look around me. "Where am I?" The man remains seated but looks me up and down.
"What year is it?" He asks me, and I bite my lip.
"It's 2009," I inform him, and he snorts.
"That bastard," He chuckles, and I send him a wary look. "Oh, of course, where're my manners? My name's Kol." He walks up to me, smiling, before taking my hand and kissing it gently. I watch him warily, and he smiles, licking his lips. "Sorry about the blood. My subconscious mind usually conjures up this dream when I'm feeling especially vengeful." He shrugs. I can only stare at him.
"What?" I whisper, and he grins.
"I guess I should explain this to you," Kol admits, sighing. "I'm an Original, and you see, Original vampires can't die." I nod slowly, trying to sort everything out in my head. I don't think I've ever heard of an Original before. "But there are these nasty little things called daggers that send us into a supernatural coma when we're impaled through the heart with them." Kol makes a face of disgust. "My brother did that to me back in 1914, and, well, according to you I've been in my supernatural coma for 95 years." Kol rolls his eyes. "It's getting a little tiresome." I don't know what to say. I barely understand.
"Okay," I manage to get out, and Kol pauses, studying me carefully as he grins.
"You're an interesting girl, Leora." He chuckles. "Here I just revealed I'm an old Original vampire, and all you can manage to respond with is 'okay'." He sends me an amused grin. "I can't decide if you're slow or just as emotionally detached as I am." I bristle at the insult.
"Okay, first off, I'm not stupid. Second, you're in a coma, and you're stuck like this, while all I must do is close my eyes and force myself to wake up when it's time. Thirdly, I knew about vampires before your big reveal, and all this, the massacres, and dead bodies, are not new to me." Kol advances towards me.
"So, you're not afraid to die?" He asks, voice low, and I stare right back at him, eyes hard.
"Try me."
And he lunges as I close my eyes. I barely flinch as I feel the air whooshing away from me and feel the pull of my body, dragging me back to the land of the living.
I wake up with sweat streaming down my face and I stumble down the stairs to grab a glass of water. I freeze when I glance out the window and see Stefan of all people, moping on the porch.
"Stefan," I say, walking out the door to stand beside him. "You're still here?" He glances up at her window, and I sigh. "She'll come around." I yawn, blinking lazily, and he frowns down at me.
"What if she hates me?" Stefan whispers, and I hesitate, unsure about how to deal with an 163-year-old vampire who sounds like an insecure teenage boy. Well, he is eternally 18, so makes sense.
"Stefan, do we have to talk about this now?" I ask, my eyes already starting to droop. He chuckles softly.
"No, I guess not," He sighs. "Sweet dreams, Leo." I wave slowly, a jaw-cracking yawn taking over, and I shake my head.
"I doubt it," I mumble. "They're usually pretty messed up." I yawn again, stumbling to the door and making my way back up to my room. "Oh, Addy? If you give me any more nightmares, I swear I'm not going to talk to you for a week." Adaline, who's reading a book, looks up with a bemused expression on her face.
"What?" She asks, and I glare, pointing my finger at her.
"You know what," I cross my arms. She only looks at me with confusion, and I shake my head, before falling back onto my pillow. Smiling satisfactorily, I fall asleep, glad that at least I won't have another nightmare to look forward to in dreamland.
"Ugh, so Elena's no fun," I pout, and Adaline looks up from the book she's reading on my bed.
"Well, duh, miss morally superior is experiencing quite the existential crisis," She says, rolling her eyes.
I frown. "She sure is." I flop down on my bed morosely. "I hope she'll listen to him. Without him, she has a very high chance of dying. At least if she's with him she'll be a little safer."
Adaline studies me critically. "I thought you blamed all this supernatural stuff on him?"
I shrug, making a face. "I mean, I don't hate him, Ad, even though I know I should." I roll onto my side, propping my head up with my hand. "He has killed lots of people."
She grumbles, frowning. "He had his humanity off."
I shrug delicately, lying back down. "I'm sure the dead people don't give a rat's ass about whether he had feelings or not when he killed them." I stare up at my ceiling, blinking. "They're still dead, aren't they?"
Adaline's silent. "We all die someday," She finally says, her voice tight with controlled emotion. "Some earlier than others." She pauses, before turning to me. "Why are you concerned?"
I sigh, turning to bury my face into my pillow. "I know I agreed to try and give him a chance. To ignore the fact that he murdered people." I turn to glare at her. "But it's easier said than done!" I throw my hands up above my head, sighing heavily. "I was raised to have a solid moral code, Ad." I shake my head. "Aiding and abetting a murderer breaks a lot of my rules!"
Adaline studies me carefully. "But you're still going to help him," She says, more of a statement than a question. I sigh, burying my head into my pillow again.
"Yes, I will," I mumble. "I like him. And he seems lonely, and guilty about what he's done." I groan, rolling back onto my back, staring up at my ceiling. "Fuck my bleeding heart."
Adaline chuckles, walking over to sit on my bed, patting my hand gently. "For Elena."
I look at her, smiling slightly. "For Elena."
Our conversation is soon interrupted by the sound of the front door swinging open, and I walk out of my room, heading down the stairs. I stop on at the bottom. "Vicki? What're you doing here?" I ask her nervously.
She looks over at me, shielding her eyes. "Leo, where's Jeremy?" She asks hoarsely. I point towards the kitchen as Adaline grabs my hand.
Elena goes flying. I take a step forward, but I feel a hand on my wrist, and I spin to face them.
"What're you doing?!" I shout, struggling. "Help her!" Stefan grips my shoulders tightly.
I shudder out of the vision. "What was that?" I ask, and Adaline huffs.
"You didn't watch the whole thing." She grabs my wrist again. "It's important."
I shift out from her grip, seeing flashes of Vicki, her biting my sister, Stefan staking her. "Stop!" I shriek, pushing Adaline off me. "I don't want to see it! I don't want to help you!"
Adaline growls. "You're supposed to help Vicki! Can't you see what's going to happen?"
I glare at her. "You told me I can't change the future, what happens in your vision happens no matter what," I hiss, and she sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I don't want to see a friend die."
Adaline reaches out, grabbing my hand viscously. "You have to."
"Vicki!?" Jeremy screams as he sits on the ground, eyes wide. Vicki turns to him, her own eyes wide, and I glance between the two. Jeremy scrambles to his feet. "Vicki?! Vicki!" But before he can make it to her, Stefan's holding him back, and her body's greying, falling to the ground.
Then the scene shifts.
Elena's kneeling on the ground, Damon walking up to her. "You should go," He says nonchalantly. She looks up at him. "I've got this."
Elena stands up, eyes blazing and shaking in anger. "You did this. This is your fault," She chokes out.
Damon isn't looking at her. "You confuse me with someone with remorse." Elena, in a fit of righteous anger, tries to attack him, but he easily fends her off. "None of this matters to me." He lets her go. "None of it."
Elena shakes her head, her eyes bright with unshed tears and a slight look of disappointment on her face. "People die around you, how could it not matter?" She chokes. "It matters, and you know it."
The scene changes again.
We're back at the house. Jeremy's sitting with his knees to his chest, and Elena's still in her bloody Halloween costume.
Elena goes to him, staring at him seriously. "Do you understand what happened tonight?" She asks him carefully, and Jeremy looks away.
"No, I don't understand," He chokes. "I know what I saw but I don't understand." Elena looks on sympathetically, and I cringe, watching my brother as well.
"She was going to kill me," Elena explains softly, but Jeremy still looks in denial.
"No, she's dead, she's dead," He sobs, and Elena places her hands on his knees.
"I'm so sorry," She soothes, but Jeremy's too far gone.
"Make it stop, it hurts," Jeremy cries, and pulls his knees tighter to his chest. Elena tries to comfort him.
"Shh, shh, it's okay," She pleads, and Jeremy looks up at her, utterly heartbroken.
"Why does everyone have to die on me?" He asks agonizingly. Elena breaks, pulling him into a hug.
And, for the first time in a long time, I watch as my brother breaks down into sobs.
I turn to Adaline. "I can't do this," I choke out, tears welling up in my eyes. She only shakes her head.
"There's more."
Elena is standing in front of Stefan outside of our house, still in her costume.
"Elena," I whisper, taking her hand. She ignores me, staring at Stefan.
"Can you make him forget?" She whispers. Stefan looks away, pained and I turn to Elena, wide eyed.
"What? You want Stefan to compel him?" I ask, shocked. Stefan is shaking his head as well.
"Elena-" He says quietly. Elena ignores the both of us.
"Stefan please," Elena interrupts him. "I don't know how he'll ever get past this, I just want him to forget everything that happened." Stefan sighs but I can see him caving. I glare at the two of them.
"You can't just make him forget, Elena! That's not the answer either!" I protest, but Elena only shakes her head.
"He's falling apart already as it is," She whispers, not looking at me. I reach out to her, trying to take her hand, but she steps away from me. "Leo, it has to be done."
"No," I whisper. Both Stefan and Elena ignore me, staring at each other instead.
"If I do it, there's no guarantee that it'll work, because of how I live," Stefan finally says. "I won't be able to do it properly." Before Elena can say anything, Damon comes out of the trees.
"I'll do it. This is what you want," He says, making his way to us. "I'll do it."
"What? No-" I start to protest, but Elena cuts me off.
"It's what I want," She says firmly. I take a step back from all of them, shaking my head.
"What about what he wants? What about what Jer wants? Doesn't that matter?" I demand, tears welling up in my eyes. Elena turns to me, her eyes pained and guilty, but also determined.
"You know he won't be able to handle it, Leo," She whispers. "Not on top of everything else."
"He deserves to feel his grief, Elena," I hiss. "He loved her. He deserves to be able to mourn her too."
Elena only shakes her head. "We can't risk it."
I glare at her before turning to Damon and Stefan to glare at them as well. "Fine. Fuck you, then," I snap, pushing past them and heading to the door. I pause, turning back to glare at Elena. "You underestimate him, Lena. He's stronger than you think." She looks away, refusing to back down. I sigh. "He won't forgive you for this, if he finds out."
"He won't," Elena states, no room for argument, and I sigh.
"Let's hope so," I mutter bitterly before finally heading inside.
I pull out of the vision viciously, turning to glare at Adaline. "I said I didn't want to see it!"
Adaline sends me a sympathetic frown, drawing in a deep breath. "I know, Leo," She says quietly. "But you're the only one who can. And you must. You have to help your family."
I swallow thickly, glancing away. "It's too hard." Adaline smiles softly. "What if I don't want to?"
"What do you kids say?" She asks, smiling. "With great power comes great responsibility."
I huff, crossing my arms. "Last I checked, I wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider, so it doesn't count." Adaline cocks her head, a bemused expression on her face. I sigh. "Never mind." I draw in another deep breath. "What do you even want me to do, Addy?" I throw up my hands, losing all pretense of control. "You said no matter what I do, what you see in your visions are going to happen!" I huff angrily.
Adaline bites her lip. "I want you to prepare him, make him care less." She glances away from me, and I stare at her in shocked confusion.
"Make him care less?!" I ask incredulously. "How the hell am I going to manage that? It looks like he really fucking cares about her!" Adaline huffs.
"Just…think of something, Leora!" She snaps, waving her hands at me in frustration before falling onto the bed, breathing heavily. I hesitate, before making my way over to her, sitting down carefully beside her. We're silent for a few minutes, before I turn to her, taking her hand in mine.
"Ad, why do you show me those visions? If I can't change the outcome, why do you show me?" I ask quietly, looking at her, and she stares at me miserably, before putting her face in her hands.
"Those visions – they haunted me my whole life," She whispers, before shuddering gently. "I didn't understand them, not until I died, but I knew they were important." She turns sharply to look at me. "I knew your sister was important. And I thought-I thought maybe I could help." She shakes her head. "I knew that I couldn't change it, but I thought trying to would at least help make my gift seem less like a curse." I pull her into a hug, and she starts to cry. "Do you know how awful it is to know all the horrible things that are about to happen, but remain unable to do anything about it?" She pulls away, looking at me fiercely and I sigh, shaking my head.
"No, I don't," I said quietly. "But, like you said before, maybe it's about the after. The events that happen after everything horrible does."
Adaline huffs, slamming her hands down onto the bed in a sudden fit of anger. "Then what's the fucking point!?" She shouts. "By that point, everyone's already fucking hurt or dead or damaged."
I lie there, silent. "I don't know, Addy." I turn to look at her, tears welling in my eyes. I brush them off hastily. "Maybe there isn't a point."
I hear Matt's voice downstairs, and I sit up, glancing over at Adaline. "She's turning into a vampire, isn't she?" I whisper, and Adaline nods jerkily. I stand up, moving quickly but quietly down the stairs, hearing a crash. Jumping, I hurry down the rest of the steps just as Stefan and Elena enter the house. He meets my eyes, and I frown, nodding towards the kitchen.
"Leo, I showed you my vision," Adaline says quietly. I grit my teeth, staring away from her. "Leora-"
"I remember," I whisper softly, turning to look at her, teary eyed. "But what do I do, Addy?" I clench my hands, taking in soothing breaths. "She's going to die."
Adaline's silent, but takes my hand, squeezing it softly. "I'm sorry," She finally says after a few minutes.
My gaze remains ahead of me, and I don't turn to look at her. "It's not your fault." I squeeze her hand. "It's not your fault." I look up, smiling reassuringly at Matt and Jeremy as they walk by with Vicki.
Adaline pushes me gently to the kitchen. "You should tell Elena that you know."
I don't respond, but I start moving towards the kitchen.
"What is it?" My sister asks urgently. and I slow down, waiting to hear what the two of them are discussing. Elena hasn't noticed me yet, but I'm sure Stefan knows I'm there. Stefan sighs, seeming to hesitate, but that doesn't last long, and he answers my sister truthfully.
"She's transitioning," He says. Elena looks panicked, and I bite my lip, glancing over at Adaline. She gestures towards them, but I still can't find it in myself to approach yet.
"Transitioning to what?"
Stefan sighs. "A vampire." Elena doesn't respond, but I can see her stiffen, and I start to get worried.
"Elena," I say, walking over to her, and she startles, whipping around to see who said her name. When she sees it's me, her face grows more worried than scared and she walks quickly to me.
"Leo, go to your room, okay?" She soothes, and I shake my head.
"It's okay, Lena, I know," I smile, patting her hand. Her mouth falls open in shock.
"You know? About-About-"
"Vampires? Yeah," I reassure her, smiling gently. She shakes her head, before looking up at Stefan, and then back at me.
"How? When?"
I frown, glancing down at my hands. "At the end of the first day of school. A vampire named Kat attacked me. And then I ran into Stefan, but he helped me, and I figured out after that." Elena's eyes flicker over to Stefan, her expression unreadable. But whatever she's thinking doesn't look good, so I quickly elaborate. "Stefan helped me. He didn't have to; he could've just attacked me like Kat did. But he didn't, and helped me instead, healing my wounds." Elena still doesn't respond, watching Stefan carefully instead. She sighs heavily, before turning back to me. I smile softly at her, reaching out hesitantly, taking her hand. "I'm alright."
Elena sighs again. "I know," She admits, turning to Stefan again with a smile on her face. "Thank you. For helping her." Stefan smiles in return, nodding.
"Of course." He smiles at her, and Elena smiles back, locking themselves in a stare off. "She needed help." I roll my eyes, annoyed that they're talking about me like I'm not there.
"Alright, now that that's sorted, can we move on to the actual problem?" I raise an eyebrow when they both turn to look at me. "What're you going to do about Vicki?"
But before we can do anything, the sound of the door slamming shut makes us all jump. All I can see when I turn around is a glimpse of Vicki's hair as she runs out.
Jeremy quickly follows, running down the stairs. "Did you see her? Did she leave?" He asks frantically, turning towards us, and Elena frowns.
"She did. Do you know where she could have gone?" Elena asks carefully, and Jeremy hunches forward, shrugging. "Do you think she went back home?" Jeremy only shrugs again, turning away, and Elena sighs. "Jer, we don't have time for this. If you know something, we need to know as well."
"I don't know anything!" He finally snaps, and I roll my eyes. "Okay? We were k-kissing, and then she freaked out suddenly and ran!" He turns away then, stomping back upstairs. Elena sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I can go find her, Elena," Stefan reassures her quietly, squeezing her shoulder. Elena nods quickly, her eyes closed still.
"Wait," I speak up quickly. "What are you planning to do when you find her?"
Stefan hesitates, his eyes guarded. "Hopefully help her adjust to vampirism." I nod, looking down at my hands. "I'll try my best, Leo." I nod again, biting my lip.
"Do you think she'll die?" I whisper quietly, and Stefan pats me gently on the hand.
"I don't know Leo. Depends on if she wants to turn or not. Her choice, though."
I nod again. "Alright. Thanks Stef."
"She turns, right Ad?" I ask quietly, but I don't turn to face the girl, who isn't talking but I can feel her behind me. "She decides to go through with the transformation, right?"
Adaline finally speaks. "Yes, she does."
I turn to face her. "I know she's going to die," I whisper, and Adaline gives me a sympathetic frown. "And I understand I can't do anything about it." I pause, shaking my head. "I just-What am I even supposed to do?"
"Nothing, really," Adaline whispers. She looks away, out the window. "You'll have to get rid of the coffee with the vervain in it."
I nod, already realizing that I would have to. "I know. They're almost finished with the one I made before. I'll throw the rest out." Adaline only nods, still looking away from me. I sigh, biting my lip as I look down at my hands. "Have you tried stopping your visions from happening before?" Adaline's face closes off immediately, her eyes turning glassy as she slowly takes a small step away from me. "Ad?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Leo," She says harshly, and I wince, sending her a guilty look.
"I'm sorry for bringing it." Adaline looks up at me, sending me a soft frown. "It must have been hard." Adaline only nods mutely. "I'm sorry."
She runs a hand over her face. "It's okay, Leo, it's not your fault." I only shrug in response.
"I know. Still."
Adaline looks down at her hands. "Yeah. Still."
We sit in silence for a few minutes before I can't stand it anymore and I get up, turning to look at Adaline. "Let's go for a walk, Addy. We need to get out of this house."
Adaline nods, her expression resolute as she comes to stand beside me. I meet her eyes, and nod. Her eyes are wild, raging with many emotions, and I see her tremble before she closes her eyes and straightens into perfect posture. When she opens her eyes again, they're clear and guarded, and she smiles wide.
"I can use the distraction," She says in a light, happy tone that makes me shiver at the falseness of it all.
But I don't want to talk about my feelings either, so I give her an equally enthusiastic and fake smile back. "Alright. Let's go."
"Leo," My sister hisses from my door, and I sigh, turning to face her. "Lock your window."
I frown, looking beside me and then back to her. "It's already locked," I say, giving her a bemused look. "What's wrong? Why do you look so paranoid?" Elena bites her lip, looking over her shoulder before turning back to me with a sigh. I grip my desk, leaning towards her. "Lena? What is it?"
She sighs again. "Damon came to the house." I freeze, my heart beginning to race. I swallow thickly, nodding. "I-" But she gets cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. She leaves, and I turn back to my desk.
But the knowledge of Damon being able to get into the house keeps me from focusing, and I sigh, crawling into bed instead. I'm asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.
The tug is strong this time, and even though I know the person on the other end is dangerous and cruel, I want answers. So, I go once again.
"You're back," Kol says. This time, we're in the middle of the forest, and the sun's shining brightly. He's leaning against a tree, watching me carefully.
"What? No bodies this time?" I ask him snidely and he looks around him, before turning back around to smile at me. He's in front of me in a second, inhaling deeply.
"Thank god, I'm still a vampire," He says in relief. "But, lucky for you, we're in a memory where I haven't killed anyone recently." Kol flashes me his fangs. "No massacres."
I nod slowly. "That's great. Really, I feel so much safer." I can't tell if he notices my sarcasm.
"You should," Kol says, still standing in front of me. "I tried to attack you last time, but you annoyingly disappeared before I could kill you." He huffs in annoyance. "Lucky you."
"Real lucky," I agree dryly, and he studies me carefully, before smirking.
"Last time we visited, I told you about me," Kol says. "I want to know about you." He glances around us, and suddenly, we're in a house, sitting beside the fireplace in the cozy living room.
"No bodies again?" I ask weakly, glancing over at Kol, who's sitting off in the corner, only a silhouette. He chuckles before getting up to open the closet. Out tumble three women. Dead. He turns to me, and it is then, as he stands in the light, that I notice the blood on his chin, and staining his shirt.
"I hid them this time," Kol says, before laughing. "Of course, people still found them." He leans down, wiping the blood off one woman's neck, before licking it off his finger. "Hmm, delicious."
I clench my jaw. "Why're we here?"
Kol shrugs. "I thought it would be more comfortable for you." He grins. "Of course, I don't have many memories without the dead bodies, so sorry darling; you'll just have to deal with it."
"Yeah, I figured," I say, sighing softly. "Kol, why am I here?"
Kol gave me a look. "Now how could I know that, darling? You're the one invading my dream." He shifts in the seat. "Besides, I thought tonight was all about you."
I raise an eyebrow. "No, because we haven't even begun to talk about you yet." I stare at him.
His frown darkens. "I want to know why you're here."
I tense, and my heart starts to race. "I can just leave." Kol pauses, before smirking.
"I don't think you can, darling, not unless I'm about to kill you." I gulp, and he smiles. "Now tell me why you're here." I shiver but shake my head slowly.
"I don't trust you," I say, voice hard. He growls, crushing the glass of whiskey he has in his hand. He vamps over to me, but I grab a picture frame, smashing it over his head, before using the wooden pieces to slam into his heart. But he doesn't die. I stand there in shock as he removes the piece of wood, before turning his red eyes on me.
"Well, look who can't die here either," Kol growls. He shakes his head. "Really, Leora, what were you thinking? If you can't die in my dream, how could I die in my own dream? You really shouldn't have done that."
"What're you going to do to me?" I whisper, and he grins, inching towards me.
Lightning fast, his hand is around my throat. "You can't die," He whispered in my ear, and I fight a shiver. "But I can make it hurt." His nails dig painfully into my skin, and I whimper, feeling my windpipe close. "Are your little powers going to save you now, darling? Or can I do what I want with you?" His other hand, the one not gripping my throat, moves down to my stomach, and I feel a sharp, piercing pain as something cuts deep into my side. I cry out, feeling the warmth of my blood on my skin.
I squirm, tears falling down my face. "Why're you doing this to me?" I choke out when he loosens his grip around my throat. But his fingers dig deeper into the wound in my stomach, and his body crushes mine against the wall uncomfortably. I struggle uselessly, my distress increasing.
"Just tell me everything, and I'll stop," He whispers in my ear.
"Go to hell," I whimper, and he snarls in my ear.
"I didn't want to do this to you, Leora, but you leave me no choice," He whispers in my ear, his hand moving the knife slowly up my stomach, creating an even longer cut.
"Fine," I choke out, tears pooling in my eyes, and he lets me go, backing away. There's a light in his eyes that I shy away from. "I'll tell you everything." I continue to cough, pushing myself up against the wall.
"Why're you here?" Kol asks, leaning against the wall opposite me. I look anywhere but him, my eyes falling on the hand of one of the dead girls. I wonder if he did that to her.
"I don't know." I turn to glare at him, a newfound bravery in me. "You're a fucking asshole." I glare at him, as if that'll show him just how much I hate him. Kol sighs, as if I bore him.
"Leo, Leo, Leo," He chastises, walking over to me, and sitting down beside me. "If you just answered my question, I wouldn't have had to resort to that show of intimidation." I look away. "You know, it hurt me to do that too." Kol sighs. "Genuinely, I'm not a bad guy."
I continue to stare ahead of me. "What? Your psychotic ass doesn't usually torture to get what you want?" I turn to him, eyes searching for something.
"You're right," Kol admits. "But I don't really care about your silly moral code, or the one you think I broke." I glare at him. "And you still haven't given me answers."
"It doesn't mean you have to feel okay with doing that to someone," I murmur, but my voice cracks. "I'm a witch, or something similar. I don't know what, but it means I can astral project. My soul leaves my body when I go to sleep, and I travel to the Otherside. This is my first time entering someone's dreams."
"How'd you learn about vampires?" Kol asks, leaning towards me, and I flinch, moving away from him.
"A girl named Kat," I whisper. "She bit me, but Stefan Salvatore helped me piece it together."
"Kat?" Kol asks, interested. "What does she look like?" I ponder this.
"Brown hair, brown eyes, pretty, maybe of European descent, but she has darker skin."
Suddenly, we've left the house and now we're at a ball. There's a woman dancing, dressed in a beautiful ball gown and I inhale sharply, recognizing her instantly. Kol glances at me, no doubt hearing my gasp.
"Is that her?" He asks. I nod.
"Yes. Kat. She goes by that now." We're back in the living room.
"Why is she near you?" He asks and I glance over at him, eyeing him carefully. I remain silent, but he puts his hand over the throbbing wound in my stomach. I gulp.
"My sister's her doppelgänger," I whisper, and he sneers.
"Well then." Kol laughs. "You'll be getting a visit from Nik sometime soon." He studies me carefully. "Do the Salvatore's know about the Originals?" I look at him, shaking my head. "You're telling the truth, right?"
I nod. "Why would I lie?" Kol stares at me, before grinning.
"Thank you, Leora," Kol says, flashing his fangs. "Now, why don't we put this behind us, and enjoy a drink. Vodka? I heard it's good." I stare at him, and he tilts his head. "Oh, c'mon, I meant it when I said I was lonely."
"I don't care," I say, standing up. "I can't sit here and be all buddy-buddy with you after what you did to me." He begins to protest. I glare at him. "Just, attack me. I want to go."
Kol gives me a cold stare, before lunging.
I wake up in a cold sweat, crying softly, and I lift my shirt. A dark, garish bruise covers the area that Kol had injured in the dream. I glance over at Adaline. "Addy, we need to talk."
Adaline walks over to me, sitting down on my bed, eyes concerned. "Is it about your dream?"
I sigh. "Not really my dream. This dead Original vampire's dream."
"So, let me get this straight," Adaline looks at me, eyebrows raised. I gesture for her to continue. "When you fall asleep, you can astral project into other people's dreams now, and it just so happens that you're joining an Original vampire in his coma dream?"
I go over what she had just said in my head, before nodding. "Yeah, pretty much."
Adaline is silent for a few seconds, nodding slowly. "Is he-"
"Nice?" I interrupt, scoffing, and she turns to me, frowning. "No. In fact-" I lift my shirt, showing her the bruise on my side, and she exhales sharply- "he's-he's not a good guy." I swallow thickly, turning away from her as I lean back down onto the bed. "He's killed a lot of people. Hurt a lot of people. Hurt me." I feel Adaline's hand in mine, and she gives it a tight squeeze. I look up at her, smiling softly, before turning onto my side.
"Is there a chance he'll wake up again?" Adaline asks cautiously, and I stiffen, tightening my arms around my knees as I inhale sharply. "Leo? What did he do to you?"
I turn around to look at her. "Do you know anything about the Originals? Have you seen anything?"
Adaline frowns slightly, scrunching up her eyebrows as she turns to look out my window. She nods slowly. "Yeah, I think so. A vampire named Elijah; I think? A girl vampire too, Rebekah." She hesitates, swallowing thickly, but continues. "And another vampire named Klaus." She shivers, and I have a feeling that Klaus is not the good guy in our story.
I nod. "So, not very good, huh?" I ask quietly, turning to look at her hesitantly, and she shakes her head, giving me a grim frown. I sigh. "Great."
Adaline heaves out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Leo."
I'm already shaking my head, reaching out to take her hand and squeezing it gently. "Hey, don't do that. It is not your fault." Adaline shrugs, not looking at me. I sigh, reaching out to grab her chin and turn her face towards me. "Stop that. How could it even be your fault? These vampires are thousands of years old. What they do is on them." Adaline sniffles, shrugging her shoulders again.
"Yeah, I guess."
I roll my eyes. "Not 'I guess'. It's 'yeah, you're right, Leo, the actions of big, murderous vampires are not my fault'." Adaline gives me a look, and I cross my arms.
"Fine." Adaline sighs heavily. "It's just-my entire life, I knew what was going to happen, all the bad stuff, but anything I tried to do to stop them always made it even worse." She pauses, swallowing thickly, and I reach out, taking her hand. She gives me a soft smile. "I blamed myself for so much, I guess it's just second nature at this point." I pull her into a hug.
"Well, I don't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself either," I say, and Adaline exhales sharply. "It's okay, Ad, we'll be okay."
Adaline pulls away, wiping her eyes discretely, so I don't comment on her tears. "I know. Thank you." I nod, and she smiles at me. "Goodnight, Leo." She gives me another hug before disappearing, off somewhere on the Otherside.
"Goodnight, Addy."